Vol. 1 Chapter 6: Party Mechanics

“So, why are we gathered here?” Alice put up the question the moment all of us finished resting. Still at the office of the secretary, which Temaire converted into her ‘personal bedroom,’ we all thought it was now proper to discuss things we should’ve done before.

Good thing Lady Yanari and Lady Menea are cool about it. The latter even brought us snacks while we discuss stuff.

“Like I said, I want to go on adventuring again,” Temaire declared. “Our stupid fight in the Antarctic cost us clearing that dungeon, and I—as a genius, and a goddess—will not allow a tarnished record.”

“Well, this is one thing I agree with you, Tenma,” Alice admitted. “I also want to finish clearing the Antarctic dungeon. However, beyond that, and we’re on opposing sides.”

“I just want to see everyone again,” Rico added. “Though we really bickered, I still enjoyed adventuring with you!”

Alice and Temaire looked at our scout with an ‘awww’ expression. But largely, they ignored her opinions.

“I retired from adventuring, but three crazy ladies dragged me back,” was my sarcastic comment.

All of them just stared at me for a few minutes, that their silence became awkward. Well, to be fair, I told that as a joke, but with meaning.

“If anything,” my childhood friend used her magic to pour herself a cup of tea. “You’re the most essential member, Yuuki.”

“Now I got two things I agree with Tenma,” the brawler seconded. “It’s the reason I grabbed Rico and went to look for you.”

“You can always look for another guy to be your ‘porter,’” I reminded them. “And, really, let’s get real. You are all beautiful ladies; if you’re searching for a potential husband, then you can always land on a better man—”

At that moment, I was interrupted when I felt my head got hit by a paper plane. From the corner of my eyes, I could catch a glimpse of Lady Yanari throwing me daggers.

I probably shouldn’t say that again.

“Hey, Yuuki,” it was Alice. “I know your childhood sucks, and people around you back then didn’t appreciate your efforts. But we all know you; we got to see your good and bad sides, and at the end, we still decided to love you. You don’t need to always strike yourself down.”

“Yes.” There was something sinister in Temaire’s smile. “We love you enough to go crazy.”

That’s something you shouldn’t be proud of, Temaire.

Anyway, the topic got derailed, and I was not really happy to talk about myself, so I steered them back to our issue. “You say you want to re-form OyasumiSe7en, but where are the other members? Do you have any information on them?”

“Who said I will re-join OyasumiSe7en?” the brawler blurted out. “I only want Rico and Yukie!”

“I want to join the new Oyasumi,” Rico replied. “I missed everyone!”

“Since I’m already here, I’ll be the porter once again,” I pointed out. “But, as porter, I want to serve Temaire, Rico, and…you. Especially you, Alice.”

Her face suddenly became red. “W-Wha—m-me?”

“Well, knowing how you keep wearing clothes unwashed for a couple of weeks, or when you will endure hunger because you’re too lazy to cook, or—”

“Gaaah! Stop it, Yuuki!” Alice shouted to drown my voice. “I’ll have you know that I changed in the years after we disbanded.”

My eyes glanced at Temaire and Lady Yanari. The former had a look of superiority on her face, while the latter laughed silently. Then, I turned to Rico. “Is what Alice said true?”

“Yep,” she nodded. “Nowadays, it’s her habit to change clothes every week, and eat convenience store food.”

I glared at Alice; though she may be the most physically powerful among us, she was still scared whenever I looked at her like that. I only got three words for her, “You’re joining us.”

“And you’re not escaping this as well, Temaire!”

“What?”

“Since you dragged me into this, I’ll do my duties like the old Yukie,” I flashed my ‘business’ smile. “First, after that trouble you caused in my neighborhood, did you compensate your victims?”

“Ha! What do you take me for? I won’t embarrass my husband to his friends—”

“It’s answerable by ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”

“Yes!”

“Second, do you have any information on the whereabouts of the other members of OyasumiSe7en?”

“Ahehehe…”

“Don’t ‘ahehehe’ me,” I gently pinched her nose. “You tracked me when I hid myself; surely, you have the resources to find the others.”

“Let’s…just say that…I focused on my husband.”

“Figures…” I could only let out an exasperated sigh, while giving her a head pat. “I guess we’ll have to find them, or recruit new members if ever the rest decided to move on from adventuring.”

Rico was the first to react. “Eeeeh?”

“Can’t help it, Rico,” Alice comforted her. “People change throughout the years.”

“Sometimes, we have to let go of our friends,” I joined in consoling our scout. “Everyone is just passing by in our lives.”

“Yuuki,” Temaire called my attention. “What’s the third question?”

“Ha?”

My childhood friend smiled at me, though it was more like because she caught me off-guard. “You will always put questions or points to us whenever we argue, or discuss things. But you haven’t noticed? You may go overboard with four, five, and even six points or questions, but it is never below three. So, what’s your third question to your wife?”

Heh, she really observed that, huh? “Okay, and third, you say that you want OyasumiSe7en’s return. So, I trust that you haven’t neglected your training with magic and physical combat techniques? After all, you may be our walking goddess, but even the goddess was defeated by that huge snowy wilderness to the south!”

“…” Awkward silence. Temaire quickly averted her gaze from me to Lady Yanari. No matter how I tried to make her face me, she would turn her head the other direction. Likewise, the elf avoided my prying eyes, and looked outside. It was Lady Menea who revealed the truth…

“Lady Henrietta slacked off for years after OyasumiSe7en disbanded.”

Yep, just as I suspected.

-----

Napoleon once said that an army marches on its stomach. While common sense dictated that it was physically impossible for soldiers to really march to battle using their stomachs, this quote pertained to the importance of logistics to any endeavor. Adventurers were like soldiers, too. In fact, many ‘retired’ adventurers found success in joining their country’s militaries. If I may dare say, the former was just a ‘glorified’ soldier, for the members of top parties often attracted attention from media and the corporate.

My party role, the ‘porter,’ was the one assigned in procuring and securing supplies for their party. In this capacity, we were also charged with budgeting the spoils we loot from dungeons, calculating taxes for the government, and contacting potential sponsors for our expeditions. Porters were the ‘job’ that was usually offered to ‘ordinaria’ adventurers, mainly because they get to stay behind the front to protect their logistics.

As such, it is also necessary for porters to know fighting techniques, and use the weapon of the modern adventurer…the gun.

“Mister Lerin, are you ready?”

I gave a slight nod to the technician in-charge of the training simulator. Behind him were Temaire, Alice and Rico, who wanted to watch the simulation. On my hand, a M1911 pistol, the standard issue for new adventurers, and three magazines—what we call ‘clips’—of ammunition in my belt. The adventurer was permitted (and encouraged) to buy their own equipment, but since this was a demonstration, I opted to fight with the standard issue.

While these girls are powerful, adventuring is no joke. Even the most prepared parties can get obliterated in one mistake.

“Alright! In 3, 2, 1…begin!”

The blinkers started to light up as the first virtual monsters—kobolds—appeared around me. Of course, the simulation included my porter role, so there was a virtual box of supplies I had to protect near me. But in practice, we keep our stuff within Kikyo and Alice’s dimension storages, so I could freely kill our enemies. Anyway, as the monsters simultaneously charged, I thought, ‘this is the importance of my former section, the Adventuring Reports.’ I mean, with how the kobolds moved, it was exactly how we encounter them inside dungeons.

A kobold group, or as in adventuring terms a ‘litter,’ would always have melee and ranged attackers. Kobolds still used bow and arrows, but they tend to pick up guns from fallen adventurers. This was why I don’t underestimate them; bows and arrows were pretty archaic, but could still kill you if you got hit in the right area.

And kobolds rarely miss…

“!!!” Because the simulation was in its early stages, I quickly dispatched the monsters without even moving from my spot.

Years of experience in adventuring taught me that the best way of dealing with ground-based enemies is to kill them from the distance.

“Level 2 in 3, 2, 1…begin!”

Another round of blinking lights, and the second wave of virtual harpies materialized. These monsters would attack by diving, then sweeping off their victims’ heads with their sharp claws. And those wouldn’t happen in slow motion; everything would be so fast the poor target won’t know what hit him. So, to keep myself alive, I had to keep moving, baiting and evading their attacks at the last moment to prevent them from destroying the supplies.

“Go for it, Yuukiiiiiii!!!” I heard my companions cheer for me. Darn it, guys, how about you watch how I do things?

I emptied an entire clip of bullets to the harpies outside my melee range. They were my priorities; in real situations, these ‘out of range’ enemies were often the most damaging. While everyone in the party was busy doing their roles, monsters who avoided detection could wreak havoc in the supply baggage. Worse, they could also overwhelm and kill the porter.

Once the ‘outer’ enemies had been dealt with, I changed into a fresh clip and charged at the charging harpies. Being an ‘ordinaria,’ I had no magic to make me fly. Nevertheless, what I lack in power, I make up with skill and techniques. The moment one of the harpies went closer to me, I used its body to jump towards its companions. Then, I pulled the trigger…

“!!!” Three harpies were dead, out of seven remaining.

As I fell to the ground, the harpies seized the chance to ‘gang up’ on me…which was another simulation done right. This was their way of defeating a near-defenseless adventurer who had just killed several of them. But I wasn’t finished yet; I grabbed a harpy by its hair and rode on its back. While its friends tried to shake me off, I fought with martial arts, all the while eliminating them one by one with a well-placed shot in the head.

To finish this wave, I defeated the final harpy by steering its body and making it crash on the wall.

“Level 3 boss fight in 3, 2, 1…begin!”

For the final simulation, I received a basilisk as the boss of the ‘dungeon.’ Basilisks were popular snake monsters in the novels I read mainly because these creatures were formidable opponents. Its poison breath could make the boss room a gas chamber, or dissolve groups of adventurers by its acid spits. What made it even more dangerous, though, was its eyes. One look, and you would freeze on the spot.

No, you’re not getting petrified or frozen. Basilisks have this innate magic that can send any of its foes into catatonic state; which is a lot worse compared to the novels where their victims are turned into stone. At least, stones don’t dissolve in acid, nor breath.

“!!!” As the monster made its move, I had to push the crate I was protecting away from its path. Then, to avoid its eyes, I shot a couple of bullets in an effort to blind it.

I missed, of course. Compared to harpies, basilisks move faster (hey, ‘tis a boss), and I still had to avoid staring into its eyes. Oh yeah, I was also on my last clip.

The monster moved back, raised its head, and aimed to lunged at me. However, this time, the attack included poison gas because of the smoke coming out from its mouth. In real situation, this creature might also use its scream to disorient its victims, and destroy their ears, but it was a rare event. The adventuring party must be truly unlucky then.

Any case, I can’t prolong this fight.

Memorizing its position, I counter-charged. My head was turned away, to avoid the catatonic state. The target was its head; once the eyes were destroyed, basilisks were easy kills.

“!!!” And just like I expected, the monster charged head-on, blowing poisonous gas towards my direction. I had to jump over it to get to an advantageous spot, which was at the top of the body. Then, once I landed, the basilisk didn’t know what hit it; I rapidly shot at its eyes, and emptied my last clip on one spot of its head.

The simulated monster dissipated, and I touched the floor gently, throwing my gun like a rapper’s ‘mic drop.’ Then, the lights opened, and I heard the usual “Congratulations!” from the technician. No one clapped from my teammates; they were simply flabbergasted by my performance.

Heh, this is the fruit of living alone in a place where people will want your money for themselves and their vices…I also have to fend to myself, alone.

-----

We all underwent simulation, though I was the first to be subjected to it. All Adventurers’ Agency branches were required to set space for such facility, by the way. This was because, not only did it serve for training adventurers, evaluators also use it for determining the skills of new recruits. After all, we couldn’t send a party where the team leader had the aptitude and skill set meant for scouts, or send scouts with the aptitude and skill set of an AWS (automatic weapons specialist).

This isn’t a game anymore. Once an adventurer is killed, there are no respawns.

“Ah, I see that you already returned from the simulation!” Lady Yanari greeted us. “How did it go?”

Temaire avoided the elf’s eyes. Alice never looked away from the ground, and Rico just chuckled and scratched her head. Well, Lady Yanari could read minds, so I guess she already knew the results.

“It seems the only one successful among you is the guy who claims to have ‘retired’ from adventuring.”

Yep, she really meant that for me; I could tell from her smug face that Lady Yanari was sarcastic.

“W-Well, I did obliterate my enemies…” my childhood friend tried to defend her performance.

“Yeah, after using magic in a guns-only fight,” the brawler snapped at her.

“Ca-Can’t help it; in actual situations, I’d be hurling magic spells, not shooting those barbaric guns. Still miles better than cowering in fear behind a virtual rock.”

“Oi, let me be clear here, rotten croissant…” Veins popped on Alice’s forehead. “I hate giant frogs. They’re icky disgusting! So, I’m not scared; just disgusted! Learn proper English before you accuse me of things!”

“What are you saying? My English is perfect! My French is god-level! And my Filipino is the standard!”

“Ahh…we really can’t complete a day without these two fighting!” Rico commented, though her expression told us that she was amused at our companions’ antics.

“Anyway, guys…” Lady Yanari clapped her hands to call our attention. “Since we are already talking about your re-enlistment and re-forming of OyasumiSe7en, I think you all know the rules?”

“Yes,” Temaire replied as she cast her magic to materialize a brush, which she used to clean my lap. After sitting, she added, “Our party can’t register if the roles aren’t filled.”

“We got the team leader, AWS, scout and porter,” Alice commented; she took out a paper to list our names there. “We only need a tank, and a mechanic.”

“Good for six members, but you are seven?” the elf asked. A former adventurer, she also teaches new adventurers the party-role mechanics, so it was no surprise she was interested in our tactics.

“OyasumiSe7en operates with two to three tanks,” I explained. “It’s a role usually suited for Alice, Lucille and Rachelle. Alice—who is also our AWS—would pepper the enemies with her machine gun, providing suppressing fire and also attracting aggression to her. Lucille and Rachelle defended her by staying in front—crouched behind the ballistic shields, and killing enemies with their rifles. Rico, our scout, not only gives us reconnaissance, but in pitched battles, she is in-charge of picking off high-value targets, or injuring it enough to be killed later.”

Rico had a proud, smug on her face while I spoke.

“Of course, we can’t be sure that dungeons are ‘one-way’ paths to boss rooms. There’s always the possibility that there are hidden routes that can bypass the areas we already cleared. So, to protect our rear flank, Temari and Kikyo—our team leader and mechanic, they guard it while the others fight at the front.”

“And Yukie is well-protected at the middle, handing us bullets and other supplies!” Rico added.

Lady Yanari took her notes, and thanked me for the explanation. Temaire, impatient as ever, quipped, “We need to find Kikyo, Lucille and Rachelle! I want that Antarctic dungeon cleared as soon as possible!”

“Hold your horses, rotten croissant!” the brawler countered. “Before we go blasting dungeons, we still have to get back to our former selves. As much as I hate to say this, but—aside from Yuuki—we had a dismal performance at the training simulation earlier. And for sure, if the others are the same, they will need to train again.”

“Muu!” my childhood friend pouted, though she knew Alice’s assessments were true. I have the same opinion, too.

“Since you are still adventurers, except for Mister Lerin, you can always use the simulation to train yourselves,” the elf offered. “As for you, Mister Lerin, can you come with me for second?” Temaire stared at me. Lady Yanari chuckled, and reassured her, “No worries, Lady Henrietta, I won’t steal a march from you…”

The drifting voice doesn’t sound so convincing…

Any case, my childhood friend left my lap and let herself fall on the nearby couch. The elf gestured for me to follow her, and she brought me outside her office.

-----

“Here’s your new adventuring ID,” Lady Yanari discreetly handed the card to me. “Are you sure of this, Yuuki? You’re really going to start-over again?”

“Yep, with a name closer to my real one this time.”

“Yuuki and Yukie almost sounds the same.”

“No one will suspect; many were led to believe Yukie is a girl,” I pointed out. “Besides, don’t underestimate the ‘magic’ of the human mind; OyasumiSe7en fans will only pick what suits their narrative. If they prefer Yukie to be a girl, then she will forever remain a girl. And I, the replacement, Yuuki; they’ll think I’m just paying homage to the original.”

“You’ve really thought about this, huh?”

I took a glance on my new ID, checked the big green band on top of my picture and adventurer name, before keeping it inside my wallet. I never wanted Temaire to see it; Lady Yanari and I shared the same opinion that she would do something ‘behind our backs’ to reinstate my former stats as an adventurer.

I don’t want to do that. Yukie is ‘dead;’ the idea of cross-dressing didn’t appeal to me.

“Well, I understand the ‘cross-dressing’ part, but you can just change your nickname, hide that you and Yukie are the same, and still keep your adventurer statistics. You’ve been a platinum adventurer before you left adventuring—five years of ‘retirement’ won’t change that fact. Many others spent years and decades just to reach your classification, and you’re just letting it go?”

“Yes, there’s that consideration, but…” I smirked, “…every person out there has their own goals, yes? Like, Temaire wants to complete the Seven Dungeons of the World tour, and I…I’d like to start at the bottom whenever I change names, then race to the top as fast as I can.”

“Like a gamer who starts all-over again whenever he picks up a new play through long after he left?”

I nodded.

Lady Yanari chuckled, amused at my reason. “And you wonder what made you kept OyasumiSe7en members united, huh? There’s your answer. You’re as crazy as your teammates!”

I’ll take that as a compliment, I guess…